Embers in the Dust

Myla placed her daggers into their sheaths, which inside carried arcane pouches that held small amounts of poison inside them. From her position in the tree, she was unsure if Cerrin even knew she was there. Rather than revealing her location, she decided to stay and analyze the situation as the scene unfolded before her.

On the ground, Cerrin placed the book before him and waved his hand as he let it drop to the ground. Before landing, it levitated, then rose and opened. He shouted, his voice a thunderous boom.

Trelao yorn

Doer ulu uns’aa

Sut nindol verin!

From the skies, a beam of radiance shone onto Kirdoth. The creature screamed in pain, and Myla was unsure as to what Cerrin was trying to do, but it was clear to her that it wasn’t helping. Lyla ran up to Cerrin, landing a punch to the side of his face, causing the book to fall at his feet.

“NO!” He screamed.

He turned toward her and his eyes glowed the orange color of the dragon he swore his life to. Lyla was lifted off of her feet and thrown thirty feet back, hitting the ground and rolling before getting back to her feet. The beam of light sparked, the spell not completed, causing Kirdoth to shake and fall to the ground, shaking the ground around it. Myla watched as the creature changed, though. After a moment, it stood and the shadows wrapped around its body, reaching higher toward the beam.

Is it absorbing the radiance? She thought to herself.

Kirdoth, in its changed form, now moved forward, taking Cerrin’s command. No longer of its regular sentience, it charged forward and released its breath. From the ground below it, then forward to Mr. Muffins and Rhokhishi, black necrosis shot out from its mouth and struck them. The grass withered and died while they screamed out in pain. As if reacting to their pain, or Leaf’s command, two spheres of light left from their rotation above him and darted to them. Touching their skin, Myla saw their wounds heal. Then, another mote shot from Leaf, soaring through the sky, striking Cerrin directly in the chest. The blast left a mark across his clothes and his skin began to wrinkle and age.

“Something’s different. I can feel it!” Rhokhishi shouted.

She wasn’t sure what Rhokhishi meant at first, but turned back to Cerrin to notice that not only was he aging, but his form seemed to shift oddly. Taking advantage of the moment, Rhokhishi called forth her abilities. A white light began emitting from Cerrin as her spell took hold. In seconds, his form changed, from the kalashtar he was to something else. They all watched as he shrunk slightly in height, then his skin turned gray. Where Cerrin stood, there now was an elder shade.

“These fuckers?” Mr. Muffins groaned.

“What have you done with Cerrin?” Leaf commanded the shade.

“I have taken the man’s body for over a year. It and I became one as my metamorphosis came!” The shade’s voice was higher-pitched and choked. “Mistress sent me here to take his body and await the day of Dubh Catha’s return! But you… You all stopped her.”

“You worked for Ramona?” Lyla asked.

“Yes! Madame Moontremble commanded me here, and you killed her! Now, I will save the dragon this body is tethered to, then I will use this ground to bring my lord back!”

“No, you won’t.” Mr. Muffins stated plainly.

Raising his arm, he lifted his weapon up and shot three rays of fire at the shade. They struck his body, pushing him back, closer and closer to Myla. As Kirdoth shot another line of necrotic energy from its breath, she pulled two daggers out, jumped from the branch, and landed onto the shade’s back, both blades piercing his shoulders. With a kick, she flipped back, knocking him to the ground, called her daggers back to her, and concentrated on the new spell in her vest. As she did, all five daggers flung out and struck him.

When she recalled her daggers back, they reappeared comfortably in their sheaths, their weight reminding her of the rope binder her sister taught her to use to stay calm. Waiting for any hint of life, she stared at his back as he lay against the grass. The dragon flew overhead, and she knew she needed to move.

One down.

I’ll get this one! Lyla exclaimed.